the woods
by simplysweetperfection
Summary: "The woods were his salvation. It never changed on him; it would forever remain the same. On days when the mines were to dark, or the food was to scarce, or the beatings were too harsh he would escape into the woods."


**A/N: **My first Hunger Games one-shot. In response to the Happy Ending challenge.

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I do not own the Hunger Games

**Warning: **Swearing, Catching Fire spoilers, destruction, some disturbing things but it's not an actually scene, and Mockingjay spoilers.

* * *

The woods were his salvation.

It never changed on him; it would forever remain the same. On days when the mines were to dark, or the food was to scarce, or the beatings were too harsh he would escape into the woods. Maybe kill a rabbit or two. Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne weren't the _only_ ones who could hunt. Whenever he slipped under the fence and into the open woods the freedom seemed to fill him. It was the only thing that managed to erase all the horrid memories of District 12 from his mind. It was the only thing until Katey.

"Darien! Get your head out of the clouds boy!" His fathers booming voice was the thing to pull him from his thoughts of the woods. "Can't you see we're wasting? Get your lazy ass out there and get us some god damn food!" Darien's father spat at his son.

"Yes, sir." Darien mumbled. After grabbing his threadbare coat he slipped from the house. The gravel crunched under his feet as he walked from the Seam and towards the fence. Luckily the new Peacekeepers were focusing all the power used for the fence towards powering people's homes so they could watch the Games. It was strange seeing Katniss on television with that Peeta guy when he would see her everyday in school.

He found his knives in their usual place before he headed deeper in the woods to find some food for his family. He finally found a small clearing where he silently sat as he waited for an animal to cross his path. After a few hours he managed to get a good haul, two rabbits and a squirrel that wasn't fast enough to escape his knives.

He hid the animals behind a tree before he stepped out to make sure there were no Peacekeepers in sight. He turned and started to head towards the tree but was stopped when he heard a blast. He whipped around to see a hovercraft only a few feet from him dropping something to the ground below. He saw the impact of, what he realized was, a bomb before the force threw him from his feet. He felt his head collide with a tree hard and painfully before he blacked out.

* * *

Blue lights flashing. The tree's singing. A bird yelling. Whips lashing out. Lips swollen and kissed. A women crying while she sings. Bloody knives. White rooms. Whispering nothings of the future. A flash of a smile. A baby crying out in the night. Golden hair between fingers. Bullet holes in heads. A fire burning green. Rain falling from the sky with no cloud in sight. Dirt falling from a hand. A puddle of blood under a body. A white coat with flecks of red. A fiddle in the hands of a child. A cabin. A women tending to a garden. A body hanging from a rope. A face twisted in horror. A knife cutting bread. Flowers bending in the wind. Shouts of terror. Light. Katey.

* * *

"He's so pale." She whispers.

"Well that's to be expected, he hasn't been in the sun for weeks." A doctor informs her. All she can grasp is the comforting hand on her shoulder and how sick he looks.

"Why," She swallows a sob. "Why hasn't anyone helped him?" She allows her gaze to flicker to the doctor before they're back on him.

The doctor clears his throat, "Well there are certain people that need to come first because they are in a more dire situation than him. He is stable and relatively health apart from the head trauma."

"You mean you're treating people depending on their class?" She asks bewildered.

"Now, I didn't say that." The doctor protests.

"Yes, you did." She answers. "Please…make him better. I need him. We need him." Her body trembles and she can hardly stand. Somehow she makes it out of the tiny room and down the hall. Once she turns the corner she can't stop the shaking in her legs as she leans against the wall. As she slowly slips down the wall her breathing becomes shallow and painful. Resting her head on her knees, she lets the first sob escape.

* * *

Alone in the dark. A book lying open on a wooden desk. Water cascading down a back. The grass whispering ageless secrets. An endless hole in the ground. A gun firing at a blurry figure. An empty street. A clenched fist. A light bulb flickering. Pounding drum. Glass shattering. Green figures with golden tattoos. A spinning die. Water splashing. Bugs buzzing. A bloody stump. Green eyes sprinkled with gray. Dripping wax. Cries of anger. Floating feathers. A smiling man in the moon. Fingers curled around a comb. Blood dripping from a mouth. Light. Katey.

* * *

They won. The execution is just a victory on top of the win. She hates to watch the killings but she can't tear her eyes away the screen. The victor, the Mockingjay, Katniss comes through a door that she didn't notice. She is dressed in her suit with a deadly look bow in her hand. The camera does a close up on her face and she can't help the gasp of surprise.

Their hero, their hope, is lifeless. Her eyes are dead as she looks upon the man she is to kill. She loads an arrow and points it towards the rose on the old mans chest. Snow's face is humorous as he looks at his soon to be killer. Confusion sweeps across Katniss's face, the only emotion she can see. Suddenly Katniss turns her arrow and lets it fly. There is the sound of impact then silence before a body impacts the ground. In the corner of the screen she can see their new president lying dead with an arrow piercing her heart.

Cries of confusion surround her and panic is seen on the screen. Katniss is screaming and thrashing as soldiers lead her to some unknown location. Before the screen goes dead she sees Peeta looking mournfully at the place where Katniss disappeared.

All around her there is cries of vengeance and cries of victory but they are hard to separate from one and another. Finally she can't take all the noise and steps from the room they were directed to. She lets her mind wander and her feet unconsciously take a path she is very familiar with. Suddenly she finds herself in front of him.

"Hi," She whispers as she sits. "I'm sorry I haven't been here in awhile." She is met with silence, not that she expected anything else. "We won the war. I guess they took over the Capitol or something. Coins dead though, Katniss just killed her." She sighs before continuing. "I don't know why I'm talking about the war. I guess there's nothing really else to talk about. It'd be easier if you were awake."

If it weren't for the beeping machines around him, she would think he was dead. "Wake up. Darien, you need to wake up. I can't do this alone, it's too much. I don't want our baby to be fatherless. Please just wake up."

* * *

Coins fall through the air. Fading hands. Melted cheese. Paper tornado. A bloody sword. Two suns. Cheeks red from the cold. An icicle. Fingers intertwined. A map of the nation. Burning flesh. A butterfly. Kisses. Glasses covering eyes. Golden leaves. Flying. Goodbye letters. A toy horse. Cannon shots. Flashes of red. A gapping wound. Wigs. Naked eyes. Golden earrings. Chard remains. Demolished buildings. Light. Katey.

* * *

"I'm sorry there's nothing we can do. His brain capacity declined during those months of neglect. We've tried everything but he's just not there." The solemn doctor explained.

"N-no. That's not true. The doctor he-he said he was fine." She said her voice an octave higher then normal.

The doctor sighed and cleaned his glasses, "Well to be frank, he was lying. This was a serious head wound and it should have been dealt with immediately. I don't know what those doctors were possibly thinking. Where was this?"

The world seemed to disappear from around her as she stared at his face. His chest was moving, his heart was pumping, yet he wasn't there. She doesn't remember collapsing, one moment she was looking at him the next she wasn't. This couldn't be happening, not to Darien. He never did anything wrong, he was the most pure person she knew. He couldn't be simply _gone_. He couldn't be dead.

He'd never open his eyes. He'd never wonder were in the world he was. They'd never hug, kiss, and cry for joy when they saw each other. He'd never learn about the war. He'd never know they were free. He'd never marry her. He'd never feel their baby move inside of her. He'd never hold their child. He'd never watch them grow up. They'd never grow old together. He'd never breathe on his own. He'd never make love to her. He'd never blink. He'd never be there.

* * *

Empty bottles. Lives wasted. Explosions. Demons choking. Light. Katey.

* * *

"One more push that's all it'll take then you'll have your baby." The doctor encouraged.

"I can't. It's too hard. I just _can't_." She breathes. All the endless hours of labor seemed to crash into her at that moment. She just wants to give up and cry in the corner.

"Look at me." The doctor commands. When she finally does he continues, "You will do this. You are going to do this for Darien." His name seems to give her the strength to continue. She grits her teeth and gives one long hard push and is rewarded with the sound of a baby crying out. She falls back against the bed, exhausted, while they clean her child. Finally she gets to hold her child and is told she has a son. She can't hold in the exclaim of surprise when he opens his eyes and his father's beautiful grey eyes stare back at her.

"Sorry to interrupt but we need you to fill this out." The doctor said as he slid a piece of paper over. She nodded and looked it over. Child's name; Mikel Blocs. Father's name; Darien Blocs. Mother's name; Katey Shepard.

* * *

Angles dancing. Light. Katey.

* * *

"Do be careful Mikel!" His mother exclaimed as he walked from the house. He couldn't help but roll his eyes. She was always so protective. Sometimes when his mother was pressuring him about school he would slip away. The woods was usually a good place to go. A few years back he found a set of knives behind a tree and he seemed to be a natural with them. He arrived at the large tree where he hid his knives and couldn't stop the smile that covered his face.

The woods were his salvation.

* * *

I'm not sure if your brain capacity really can decrease when you're injured. I'm not a doctor, so sorry if it's not true. Also if anyone was wondering the random things/words is actually Darien's mind/dreams.


End file.
